Vince Lombardi once said “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”
Although I think the good coach most likely had football on his mind when he passed along this gem of wisdom, I must beg leave to apply it to my own humble circumstances today. After years of skirmishes and lost battles, I’ve finally won the war.
That is, the war of trying to make delicious gluten-free brownies.
For some reason, despite my other successes in the kitchen, I’ve always fallen short when it has come to brownies. I can make waffles, muffins, and even doughnuts gluten-free, but the simplest of desserts had alluded me.
But, oh how I’ve tried. I’ve tried mixes. I’ve tried blends. I’ve tried substitutes. Believe it or not, I’ve even had a disastrous (albeit very memory-making) cooking adventure with a kind friend who had stumbled upon a black bean brownie recipe. But no matter how hard I try, my brownies normally wind up good enough only for the garbage can. Or on a REALLY good day, fit enough to eat….with a spoon.
Thanks to my allergies, I had to have a brownie recipe that was not only gluten-free, but hardest of all, egg-free. For some horrible reason, those one or two eggs make all the difference in the world.
BUT….today I experienced victory in the kitchen. I had been craving brownies for a few days, so I decided to have ONE more go at it. I’m so glad I did!
The recipe is a cinch to make, so easy in fact that it can be popped in the oven in a matter of minutes. When I took them out of the oven, the first thought that came to my mind was that “Oh WOW, they LOOK like brownies!” I fought off the temptation of eating them piping hot out of the oven, and instead let them settle for about a half hour. As I sunk my teeth into a corner (my favorite piece), I was overjoyed. Not only was it light and chocolatey, but it held together perfectly and was deliciously gooey at the same time. I’ve been gluten-free for a long time, but not long enough to forget what a real brownie tastes like. And these, well, they taste like the real deal.
So now that I’ve made you drool, here’s the recipe. Don’t put off trying it—-your tastebuds will thank you.
This recipe is gluten-free, egg-free, and nut-free. Recipe makes one 8×8 pan.
Ingredients
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup of brown rice flour
1/8 cup cornstarch
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (table salt will work, too)
1 Best Life Buttery Baking Stick (I’ve recently started using this and it has revolutionized my baking. While the baking stick container does not expressly say GF, it has almost exactly the same ingredients as the Best Life spread which is labeled gluten-free. However, if you want to use another form of shortening, you’ll need a 1/2 cup.)
2 baking powder eggs (4 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons oil, and 2 teaspoons baking powder mixed together in a small bowl)
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8×8 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Melt the Best Life stick or your preferred shortening in the microwave in a small bowl. In a large mixing bowl, combine the shortening with all the remaining ingredients and beat until well mixed and smooth.
Pour brownie mixture into prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until brownies pull away from the sides. Cool pan on a wire rack and cut into squares when cooled.
